The UConn volleyball is now 9-1 and 2-2 in conference play (Charlotte Lao/The Daily Campus)

The UConn volleyball team split a pair of matches this past weekend against Houston and Tulane.

The Huskies are now 9-7 overall and 2-2 in the American Athletic Conference.

Any win on the road in this conference is difficult, especially given our injury situation, so we were pretty proud of the response and effort today.

— Head coach Kris Grunwald

On Friday, the Huskies faced conference foe Houston in Texas. The Cougars are 5-7 overall and 1-3 in the American.

UConn lost the match in straight sets.

In the first set, there were five different lead changes but Houston powered through with a late run to grab the win. UConn’s redshirt freshman Kayla Williams, who had 18 kills in the match, recorded 10 of them in the first set. UConn lost the set 25-22.

In the second set, the Huskies battled tough but were unable to secure the victory, losing 25-22 once again.

In the third set UConn went on a late 7-0 run but it was not enough to outpace the Cougars who had a close 25-22 victory.

UConn’s head coach Kris Grunwald expressed disappointment in his team’s performance on Friday.

“From game preparation to overall execution we didn't feel we put ourselves in a position to compete,” Grunwald said. “Given that result we talked about what we needed to do differently.”

On Sunday, the Huskies took on Tulane in Louisiana. The Green Wave is 12-5 overall and 1-3 in the American.

UConn was able to defeat Tulane in four sets. It was the Huskies’ first conference road win of the season.

In the first set, the Huskies were trailing until they were able to knot it up at 20-20. After that, UConn dug deep and completed a 5-1 run to take the set. The Huskies beat Tulane 25-21.

The second set was more of the same as the Huskies defeated Tulane 25-20. UConn held Tulane to a .065 hitting percentage.

In the third set, the Green Wave found momentum and beat UConn 25-19. The Huskies were held to a .083 hitting percentage.

The fourth set saw UConn fighting amid four different lead changes. However, the Huskies were able to hold on and take the match by winning the set 25-22.

After the match coach, Grunwald expressed happiness at his team’s efforts.

“Saturdays practice was a great effort and the win was a result of their focused preparation and sustained efforts,” Grunwald said. “Any win on the road in this conference is difficult, especially given our injury situation, so we were pretty proud of the response and effort today. With that lesson learned, we need to keep that mentality as we prepare for two tough home matches this weekend.”

The Huskies next play will be on Friday against Cincinnati in Guyer Gym.